"it seems that you have had a very interesting day off". The captain of the City guard said to me as he saw me holding a bag with red scales in it.
"To be honest the only thing that I did on the day off was go through my family's historical coming-of-age process.
I can say that I succeeded, and I am now officially a member of my family". I said in response to what he asked.
It was taking every ounce of self-control to hold this heavy bag of dragon scales. Despite how light and weight each scale was the sturdiness and also the amount that I had with me increased the weight of the bag a whole bunch.
"I'm glad to hear that you are doing well then. I need you to come back to me shortly after you do with that bag what you need to do because you have been personally requested to do a specific Mission by a member of the royal household".
"Do you know who it is in the royal household that explicitly requested my services?"
"Truthfully; I do not know which member of the royal household asked for your services exactly. This is because the request was given to us by a member of The Dragon Guard". He said in a much more straightforward and serious tone as he started to lean on his table.
I had heard stories about the members of The Dragon Guard. They say that unlike the rest of the dwarves; The Dragon Guard gives sacrifices to high dragons to gain the dragon's protection. That is how the stories go
I do not believe that to be because not a single high dragon has been seen in this world for over one hundred years.
"Yes captain; I will be back as soon as I'm done with this task". I said to the captain as I bowed to him and then turned around, but before I could leave the room he spoke to me again.
"Now that I think about it, it might be better for you to just go to the royal palace as soon as you are done with that task".
I then continued my steps to the smithing area without stopping.
"Gertrude!!! I am glad to see you again. Do you have any unique requests that you want to ask me right now?" Turgore asked as he was hammering at a plate of iron.
"I mean since you asked". I stated to him as I let go of the heavy bag when I was only a few feet from him.
He then stopped hammering and came over to my bag.
As he looked through the bag I could see a rush of excitement and thrill run across his face.
"Do you want me to use these dragon scales? Also how did you even obtain such a rare smithing material, and also in such large quantity? It must have cost you a small fortune". Turgore said as he was examining all of the different scales that were in the bag.
"This material ended up not costing me any money to obtain".
"What!! Are you serious? It seems that someone must have a very wealthy family member or friend".
"I got it from slang, a flightless dragon in my family's coming-of-age process."
"Interesting, but you still have not told me what you want me to do with all of these scales. There are an absurd amount of them here so I can do a variety of things for you".
"There are two things that I would like you to do with those scales.
The first thing that I would like you to do is to make as high a grade of a full set of heavy body armor as you can.
If you have spare materials left, then after that, the second thing on my list would be to make me a greatsword with at least two different rooms on it".
"I honestly think that I can do that. Now, normally, I would ask for an absurd amount of money for this, but because it allows me to work with such a rare material that I get to experiment with, I will not charge you as much as I normally would".
"I accept those terms. This must be a bonus that I get due to my continuous racial perk Lucky Ancestry. Now that I think about it my perk might have been active when it came time to go through my family's coming-of-age process. I mean what are the odds that I would fight a flightless dragon at my age?
"You will have to give me at least a week if you want it done right. After that, as soon as you pay me the money I am due, I will give you access to your custom-made items".
The blacksmith went back to work after he grabbed my bag, and put it behind a locked cabinet.
I then left the smithing area of the guard house and set out for the royal palace.
As I entered the palace, I saw a variety of different well-dressed dwarves who were discussing something, but I chose not to focus on their conversation since it was probably none of my business.
The palace was quite decorative compared to the rest of the city.
The walls were covered with tapestries that displayed battles and wars that were fought between dwarves and the other species of the world.
On the floor, there wasn't a variety of different animal pelts used as carpet or rug material. All of this decor told me that the royal household valued showing off their wealth.
When I looked at the top of the central staircase, I saw a guard who was wearing black armor instead of the traditional gray worn by soldiers, which told me that he was either some personal guard or he was possibly a member of The Dragon Guard.
"You look as though you do not know where you were supposed to go. Are you Giltrude?" The guard asked me as I made it to the top of the stairs.
"Yes; I am Giltrude".
"All right then; please follow me. The young master has been expecting you". The guard said as he waved his hand for me to follow him.
"So you are the dwarf who has changed the third Prince in such a dramatic way. I am glad to have met the face behind all that he speaks of".
I followed him through a whole way that was to the side of the stairs, and when I went outside, and noticed that we were in a garden with a variety of different plants and herbs that were being picked by the third prince.
"I have brought him to you as you requested, Prince Benyail." The garden said as I saw him bow to the prince before backing away.
"Thank you for coming here Giltrude. I have a very special assignment that I want to give you". He said to me as he stopped picking the plants.
Somehow I just knew that it was him who had requested me personally. I mean who else would have done this because, to any other member of the royal household, I am a nobody.
"I am at your service, my prince". I said as I bowed to him.
"Please; do not bow to me. In the end, I should have been the one to bow to you because you have awakened a side of me that I thought I never had.
Truthfully it is because of your realistic view of the world that I now understand that titles are only a means to an end. If anyone uses their title as a way to get what they want they are not worthy of it". He said in a very calm voice.
So this must have been part of the change that the guard was speaking of. If what the guard said is true then I prefer this Prince over the stuck-up one that I had to deal with on that bodyguard assignment.
"So what is it that you need from me on this day, prince?".
"You know that my last mission was to establish a teleportation circle in our capital city, correct."
"Yes, I do"
"Now that we have established the teleportation circle in the capital city; we need to establish the teleportation circles in key areas around the dwarven Kingdom.
That is why I have requested your assistance. I want you to be my escort throughout the kingdom".
The thought of working with him did not sit right with me, but if I do it will help boost my reputation as well as offer me a good amount of coinage.
"I will tell you that my services are not going to be cheap".
"I will pay you whatever you wish. That might sound crazy to you, but it is, truthfully, a minuscule amount compared to what we will accomplish through this mission's success.
He then walked out of the garden and I followed him to the royal carriage in the stables.
"This carriage is fully stocked with weapons and armor of different varieties.
You can use them as you please. I also have a decent amount of cooking utensils so that we may eat decently even if we are on the road.
I have to say that the prince is in a more tolerable mood after our first mission together, and he also now seems a little more organized.
Not knowing what this Mission had in store for me I could not shake the feeling that this mission was going to be both an amazing journey as well as a terrible twist of fate for me.